This October, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in a panel discussion at Georgia Tech between the Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy (CISTP) and the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) concerning the prospects for strengthening nuclear energy cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea.
As part of an effort to advance respective national deliberations on the renewal of this important partnership, CISTP and KAIST convened a panel of esteemed scholars and policy experts to explore key technological, economic, political and strategic dimensions to the issue.
Topics ranged from projected market trends to technical, economic and nonproliferation aspects of nuclear fuel cycle development. Those present provided a unique and important international perspective on nuclear technology in both the power and arms arenas.
Of particular note were the discussions about the recent South Korea-UAE nuclear plant sale and the affect that will have on upcoming negotiations for the renewal of the U.S. - South Korea nuclear cooperation agreement, a prerequisite under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act for nuclear trade.
My take-aways from the meeting included:
-- If there is a lack of vision on the part of the US for how to meet the needs of S Korea’s nuclear agreement, this will put in question the U.S. technical leadership role for nuclear technology.
-- There is a substantial geo-political impact to what is happening now in Asia as far as nuclear development is concerned. The impact of the recent South Korea - UAE sale is not just commercial. If South Korea acquires fuel reprocessing capability as part of the 123 agreement, this will affect Northeast Asia nuclear strategy and the proliferation of nuclear technology internationally.
To read more about this conference and see a list of panelists at the event, please click here.
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